Dear Morning Joe, We Are Part of "The Real World"

Elitist condescension makes it worse, not better.

After social media across multiple platforms erupted over Joe and Mika’s trip to MAL to kiss the ring, or, as Joe put it, “restarting my communications with Trump,” the response this morning was to insult the critics. Scarborough opened the show with this:

“Yesterday, I saw for the first time what a massive disconnect there was between social media and the real world because we were flooded from phone calls from people all day, literally around the world, very positive, very supportive.”

So, the millions of people who expressed outrage that J&M went to the home of the man they have called a serial sexual abuser of women and the second coming of Hitler are disconnected from the real world, but J&M’s friends calling them from around the world have their finger on the pulse? I guess we will find out when the ratings from this week come out whether this is just cranks on social media or real people who used to watch their show. (The show’s ratings had already tanked since the election even before this).

Sure, the consensus of the opinions on social media don’t always reflect society as a whole or the views of the entire country. I get that. But that’s not really the issue here. Morning Joe’s audience is largely the very same people who are complaining on social media - educated, sophisticated people who follow the news very closely and are on social media. So, with this dismissive statement, Joe insults his own audience yet again.

I guess I’m just not sophisticated enough to understand why a TV host would go to someone’s house to kiss and make up who accused him of murdering a staffer to cover up an extramarital affair (with no evidence). Or who viciously insulted his wife over her intellect, looks, and plastic surgery. I guess those of us in the imaginary social media world don’t get the nuance of how it is necessary to kiss the ring of that person in order to provide TV commentary to a largely progressive audience.

I certainly consider myself part of “the real world” even though my job now is to write and produce political content online. I live in Maine. I spend time in local businesses and community events every single week. I previously lived in MA, CA, GA and FL. I grew up with a single mother in a working class town with best friends from multiple races and backgrounds, rich and poor. I worked many part-time odd jobs growing up. Put myself through 7 years of college.

I served in the Marines with people from every corner of America from every type of background. Went to state schools with people from all over the world. Ran a police academy. Coached Little League and travel baseball teams with hundreds of families involved. Was heavily active in politics and civic affairs first as a Republican, then as a Democrat.

I taught US and World History at my local high school. I practiced law as a solo practitioner helping people in my community for nearly three decades. My wife and I were active in our local church where she served as Children’s Director while also working at a local public school. My friends and family members are equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.

But I guess I am just out of touch with “the real world” with these life experiences because only at the NBC studios at 30 Rock in NYC do you get an accurate read on the pulse of America.

I know that many of you reading this who are also on social media from time to time are real people from all walks of life from every part of America - urban and rural, multi-ethnic, wealthy and working class, highly educated and self-educated. Some of you were part of the Morning Joe audience. But the opinions we expressed yesterday about this high-level summit of elite sophisticates in Palm Beach apparently do not reflect what “real America” thinks about it.

I would also note that it was not just progressive social media users who panned this move. Fox was on fire the entire broadcast day playing clips of Joe & Mika calling Trump every name in the book and essentially comparing him to the anti-Christ. Right-wingers on social media were mocking them even more than liberals. Their CNN competitor John Berman had this to say:

“You might know me from a cable morning show … but not the one that just sent two anchors to Mar-a-Lago, then talked about it like it was the Yalta Summit.”

I guess Berman is also not part of the “real world.”

Since only a few woke weirdos on social media seem to care according to Joe, I’m sure there will be no impact on the ratings of their show. I guess we will find that out soon enough.